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The Acyrthosiphon pisum data and its display on Ensembl Genomes are made possible through a joint effort by the Ensembl Genomes group and AphidBase. The source data for this genome and other resources can be accessed via the AphidBase download pages.

About Acyrthosiphon pisum

Aphids are common agricultural pests that feed on sap from the phloem vessels of a wide range of host plants. The pea aphid Acyrthosiphon pisum has co-evolved with an obligate bacterial symbiont (Buchnera aphidicola), which provides essential amino acids that are rare in phloem and would otherwise be missing from the aphids' diet. The co-evolution of the aphid and Buchnera has led to extensive gene loss from the genome, including immunity related pathways, purine salvage and the urea cycle. At the same time over 2000 gene families are duplicated, including miRNA synthesis and sugar transport.